Finger Eleven and Five Crooked Lines

The first time I heard "First Time" and "Drag You Down" by Finger Eleven I was floored.  I got The Greyest of Blue Skies album and instantly connected with it.  After the hard rocking openers I fell in love with the emotion in "My Carousel, Sick of It All, For the Ocean, Broken Words, Suffocate, Bones & Joints, Famous, Walking In My Shoes, and Stay and Drown."   I had found a new great band.  I went back and got Tip, and although it didn't move me as much, it was respectable.  In 2001, I got to see them live and it was a magical night.  In only my eighth concert experience, I got to see Drowning Pool who were just about to blow up with the mosh anthem "Bodies," and I got to meet the charismatic and humble Dave Williams.  I got to see Stereomud who were a solid hard rock band with a good singer.  I got to see Boy Hits Car and be blown away with their stage presence and "LoveCore" energy.  Headlining that night was Finger Eleven.  While it was hard to top what BHC had just done, Finger Eleven were great.  They had the songs and the musicianship to keep me there all night even though I had an organic chemistry exam the next day.  The exam didn't go well, but in my opinion it was worth it. 

Fast forward to early 2004 and I saw Finger Eleven again.  This time they were touring in support of their self titled release that featured "One Thing," their best known single.  Even though they were gaining popularity, they were opening for Smile Empty Soul and Trapt.  All the bands were great, but I left even more impressed with Finger Eleven.  The guitarist had this cool bodiless guitar that looked like nothing more than a rod iron skeleton with strings.  Singer Scott Anderson had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand and yet he was appreciative and grateful.  He said we made his day and his week!  In 2007 they released Them vs. You vs. Me and while I felt let down that they went in a more pop direction, it brought the catchy and creative "Paralyzer" that brought the band an even bigger audience.  I bought an album of demos and re-releases called Us. vs. Then vs. Now which I enjoyed and then I kind of slept on them and missed the fact that they put out a record in 2010 called Life Turns Electric.

I had been curious about their 2015 release, but honestly I wasn't getting my hopes up too much.  I previewed it and I immediately had to buy it.  It turns out it is a damn good effort.  The album is called Five Crooked Lines and it has elements of Finger Eleven from all the previous albums, but it is also fresh and very rock and roll.  "Gods of Speed" kicks it off with a fast driving beat and even a little Queens of the Stone Age kind of sound.  "Criminal" sounds like a throwback to their earlier discs.  "Save Your Breath" is the most raw and gritty they have shown in a while.  "Wolves and Doors" has the funky disco beat reminiscent of "Paralyzer" and might be the lead single because I found a video for it that features part band performance and part bleeding skulls, body paint, and stalking wolf imagery.  Usually when the album title track is buried in the middle of the album it is a let down, but that is far from the case with "Five Crooked Lines."  With its distorted bass and straight up rock drumming, that song rips!  Welcome back F11.